We use cookies to enhance your experience on our website. By continuing to use our website, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. You can change your cookie settings at any time.Find out moreJump to
Content

DeBrenna LaFa Agbényiga

As a profession, social workers must understand and work well within the realms of capacity development. This understanding is important because it provides a foundation for working at the ...
More

As a profession, social workers must understand and work well within the realms of capacity development. This understanding is important because it provides a foundation for working at the micro and macro levels to engage communities, organizations, systems, and individuals. However, the complexity of capacity development has made it difficult for social workers to fully engage from this stance. This entry discusses the historical development of capacity development and building while linking it to social justice. It also provides a theoretical perspective and methods for understanding and utilizing capacity development and building in social-work practice.

Hillel Schmid and Yeheskel “Zeke” Hasenfeld

Contracting out of social services is defined as the purchase of services by government agencies from for-profit and nonprofit organizations. It has a long history beginning with the ...
More

Contracting out of social services is defined as the purchase of services by government agencies from for-profit and nonprofit organizations. It has a long history beginning with the English Poor Law of 1723 and becoming a major policy during Reagan's administration. Both the advantages and shortcomings of contracting out are described and analyzed. The effects on providers' accountability to government and clients and the implications for social work practice and ethics are discussed. Special emphasis is given to the social workers' dilemma facing a dual loyalty to contractor–employer on the one hand and to clients on the other.

Kirsten A. Grønbjerg

Of the 1.6 million tax-exempt organizations registered with the IRS as of March 2012, about one-fourth are human service nonprofits, including some 254,100 charities with about $134.5 ...
More

Of the 1.6 million tax-exempt organizations registered with the IRS as of March 2012, about one-fourth are human service nonprofits, including some 254,100 charities with about $134.5 billion in total revenues. In 2011 human-service charities received about $35.4 billion in charitable contributions. This represents 12% of all charitable contributions (Giving USA Foundation, 2012) and is about 15% of the combined revenues reported by the roughly quarter million registered human-service charities. While government funding is a major driving force for human-service nonprofits, philanthropic funding clearly is important as well. Securing such funding requires solid understanding of the fundraising process and dedicated time and effort, however. Moreover, competition for donations (and fundraising expertise) appear to be growing across the board, with donations from individuals, United Way, and corporate contributions most at risk for human-service nonprofits.

Kristine Siefert

Food insecurity and hunger are serious problems around the world, with an estimated 870 million people chronically undernourished. The vast majority of these people—an estimated 14.9%—live ...
More

Food insecurity and hunger are serious problems around the world, with an estimated 870 million people chronically undernourished. The vast majority of these people—an estimated 14.9%—live in developing countries. Although federal food and nutrition assistance programs and the generally high standard of living in the United States have eliminated the more extreme forms of hunger found in developing countries, less severe but nonetheless serious forms of hunger and food insecurity affect millions of households. Food and nutrition programs require adequate funding, increased access, and further evaluation, but to achieve the goals of ending hunger and assuring food security for all, multisectoral strategies that address the macro-level determinants of food security are needed.

Doreen Elliott

The major international governmental and nongovernmental organizations and their activities are discussed with reference to their global co-coordinating, advocacy, service, and research ...
More

The major international governmental and nongovernmental organizations and their activities are discussed with reference to their global co-coordinating, advocacy, service, and research functions. Attention is also given to the work of international professional associations.

Bradford W. Sheafor

In U.S. society, individuals are designated “professional” when they meet the requirements for a profession. However, professions are developed and maintained through various professional ...
More

In U.S. society, individuals are designated “professional” when they meet the requirements for a profession. However, professions are developed and maintained through various professional organizations and associations. As social work has evolved, the professional membership and professional education organizations have periodically unified, split, and later reunified when maintaining an identity as a single profession competed with the need to address the interests of different practice specialties, educational levels, and special interest groups within social work.

Tom Holland

Most social service organizations are identified by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service as nonprofits, designated as 501c3 organizations. They are overseen by governing boards, which ensure ...
More

Most social service organizations are identified by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service as nonprofits, designated as 501c3 organizations. They are overseen by governing boards, which ensure that all the activities of the organization contribute to advancing its mission. These boards also identify strategic goals, hire and guide the executive, oversee the organization's finances, help raise funds for it, and ensure accountability to stakeholders.

Andrew Dobelstein

Privatizing social services has taken a new turn as America enters the 21st century. Although it was once possible to separate private and public social services, the growing trend toward ...
More

Privatizing social services has taken a new turn as America enters the 21st century. Although it was once possible to separate private and public social services, the growing trend toward public–private partnerships has made such earlier distinctions meaningless since more and more private social services are supported with public money. There are advantages and disadvantages inherent in the mixing of public and private social services, but perhaps the greatest problem may be the support of a growing trend for all levels of government to dissociate themselves from their longstanding public social service responsibilities.

Jon Simon Sager

Social planning emphasizes the application of rational problem-solving techniques and data-driven approaches to identify, determine, and help coordinate services for target populations. ...
More

Social planning emphasizes the application of rational problem-solving techniques and data-driven approaches to identify, determine, and help coordinate services for target populations. Social planning is carried out by a myriad of organizations—from federal agencies to community organizations—attempting to solve problems ranging from child welfare to aging. The advantages and disadvantages of this empirically objective data-driven approach, including different forms, will be discussed along with past, current, and future trends within the field of social work.

Philip R. Popple

Formal or institutional social services began in the United States in the late 19th century as a response to problems that were rapidly increasing as a result of modernization. These ...
More

Formal or institutional social services began in the United States in the late 19th century as a response to problems that were rapidly increasing as a result of modernization. These services were almost entirely private until the Great Depression in the 1930s when the government became involved via provisions of the Social Security Act. Services expanded greatly, beginning in the 1960s when the federal government developed a system wherein services were supported by public funds but provided through contracts with private agencies. This trend has continued and expanded, resulting in a uniquely American system wherein private agencies serve as vehicles for government social service policy.

PRINTED FROM the Encyclopedia of Social Work, accessed online. (c) National Association of Social Workers and Oxford University Press USA, 2016. All Rights Reserved. Under the terms of the applicable license agreement governing use of the Encyclopedia of Social Work accessed online, an authorized individual user may print out a PDF of a single article for personal use, only (for details see Privacy Policy and Legal Notice).